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Article published In:
Translators’ and Interpreters’ Job Satisfaction
Edited by Minna Ruokonen, Elin Svahn and Anu Heino
[Translation Spaces 13:1] 2024
► pp. 54–77

Measuring translators’ quality of working life and their career motivation

Conceptual and methodological aspects

ORCID logo | Kansai University
ORCID logo | University of Portsmouth
ORCID logo | Dublin City University
ORCID logo | University of Surrey
This article discusses the conceptual and methodological aspects of the Translator WRQoL (Work-related Quality of Life) survey and provides some preliminary results and observations based on the first pilot study. The survey is being developed to measure translators’ work satisfaction and motivation in the context of job digitalisation and automation. Literature suggests that translators’ work satisfaction and their career motivation have been adversely affected. The survey being developed in this study intends to quantitatively measure the causes of the adverse effects using psychometric-strong scales. The ultimate goal is to administer the Translator WRQoL survey on a large scale, and using SEM (Structural Equation Modelling), to identify the causal relationships between the constructs measured by the scale and to determine what kind of translators (regarding worker profiles and attitudes to technology and other factors) have high/low levels of work-related quality of life and are more/less willing to stay in the profession.
Keywords: translators, language industry, work-related quality of life (WRQoL), work satisfaction, work motivation, translation technology, survey study, psychological scale development
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Translators’ work satisfaction and motivation – conceptual and methodological issues
    • 2.1The paradox
    • 2.2Methodological issues
    • 2.3Methodological enhancement using SEM (Structural Equation Modelling)
  • 3.The new T-WRQoL scale
    • 3.1The first component – Translators’ work-related quality of life
    • 3.2The second component – Translator-specific factors
      • New construct 1: Motivation to work (MOW)
      • New construct 2: Tech-Human symbiosis (THS)
      • New construct 3: Translator agency (TRA)
  • 4.The study
    • 4.1Aim
    • 4.2Questionnaire design
    • 4.3Participants and data collection
    • 4.4Data analysis, findings and discussion
      • The first-stage analysis
      • The second-stage analysis
      • Translators and technology
      • Long-term intention to work as a translator
      • Overall work satisfaction
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 15 February 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.23026.sak
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